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Previously when I would “try and eat well” it would always be destroyed over the holidays.
So this year I decided to think about this in advance and solve it…and it worked beautifully!
There was a Zoroastrian Congress in Houston over the holidays where all my friends and family would be. It took place at a hotel, which ensured I’d be eating out all the time and have plenty of chances and excuses to eat like crap.
It’s easy to think, “It’s the holiday, I’ll just indulge a little”….but I KNOW the end result is being sluggish, feeling fatter and finding it hard to wake up etc…
So for the weeks prior to the holiday I began tracking my meals like I did during the 6-pack experiment. I didn’t necessarily give up ANYTHING…I simply ate good, not bad.
I made an old piece of cardboard into a “tracking chart” starting two weeks before Christmas. Everyday I was to write down everything I ate on a little sheet of paper (which I carry in my pocket), then post it on the board at night:
In around two weeks the chart was full:
I actually filled up BOTH sides of the cardboard, for 20 full days of tracking:
It’s amazing how just being conscious of how much you’ve eaten for the day keeps you on track.
Here were some of my eating habits during my hotel stay:
- I’d keep fruit in my room, or eat it wherever I could (I stole a bunch from the gym at the hotel).
- I’d get the vegetarian meals at hotel-catered events because they would generally have more veggies..not just a big piece of meat and little else.
- Tea or water instead of sodas.
- I still drank alcohol, but would account for it and compensate by eating fewer calories earlier.
- Worked out on a normal schedule.
- I wouldn’t “skip” dessert…but rather I’d “pass up foods that don’t add nutrition”.
Since I was eating so well, the tightly packed schedule during the holidays was much easier. I could wake up easier, recover from drinking much quicker, and just in general feel good instead of weighed down….all by simply writing down what I ate!
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13 Responses
Nice work Neville. Thank you for sharing your food logging progress. Thinking about how you’re going to feel tomorrow based on how much you eat today is a great tip.
Tracking the food you eat is definitely a good tactic for staying on course.
This is probably something that many people are now doing because of their new year’s resolution, but really it something to do all year even after the new year’s resolution is long forgotten about.
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I hope it encourages others to do the same, since it shows how “do-able” it is.
I like the way you handle situations, you always stick to it and keep working on it. Good job nev !
Easier said than done…but after a while it gets pretty simple!
Yea, it really isn’t hard at all for the amount of insight you get into your health.
Thanks Julian!
Are you going to the Zorastrian thing in Canda this summer?
Neville, are you going to spill the beans about the mystery items on your monthly goals? Does it have to do with your criminal arrest in May?
Happy New Years!
I’m constantly recommending my patients to track their meals via log books…just the simple fact of jotting down your daily activities can allow you to visualize your progress and pinpoint bumps as you try and reach your goals.
Great post!
Probably yes!
Hahaha, nope and nope :-)
It really is pretty simple. Simply seeing in visual form just how much you eat is sometimes quite startling.
ironically, as simple as we both know this process is…so many people fail to do it…even with sites like Livestrong and their daily-plate app doing so much of the work…people just refuse to try. Glad your doing this and keep us posted!